The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-20
SEARCHING THE ARMAMENT,
me MONSTER BALLOON WHICH 1.-THE
WORLD" WILL SEND UP.

Up the Passenger List-What the Craft
viii Be and Why the Trip is Made.
On an early day in June monster balloon
will start from st. Louis. 1t will be sent up
py Tho World, and will contain four pas
Iengers--a navigator to manage the aerial
ship; photographer with the finest instru-
nent ready TO catch views Of the wonderful
panorama which will be spread out below the
!orty observers; a scientific man, detailed from
The Signal Service Office in Washington, and
provided with all instruments necessary for
The accurate observation Of the many inter-
ssting phenomena Of the upper atmosphere,
md last In the car will be a trained writer,
who will present In word the picture to the
leaders OF The World what he has caught
with eye and car far up in the untravelled
lrea Of the upper skies.
For months past a number Of workpeople
have been busy In the little town OF Winsted,
Conn.,, making ready the monster bag and box
n which the four men will make their inter-
lsting and thrilling journey. The master
lpirit In all this preparation is Alfred E. Moore,
who, at the age Of twenty-nne, has won for,
himself name and place among the practical
ieronauts OF the time. He has made many
lscents and taken brd's-eye view of his native
State from every point and in all sorts OF
weather. He has had his portion of the hair
breadth escapes which fail to the lot OF those
who leave mother earth and tread the treach-
rous elements OF the atmosphere.
In the new balloon which has been growing
lnder his supervision he has tried no novel
plans. There are no wings or fins, or pro-
lad al ii 10 Uat nut
" order and do more harm than good. The
cheme was to go up, catch that eastern cur
ent which all air navigators Of prominence
lgree does exist above the lower air stratas,
md then stay up long enough to cover the
distance of 1900 which would lower the party
n New York State, or at any rate In this
Mrection. From twenty to thirty hours 1t is
proposed shall be spent in the air and the cal
.ulations were all based on making a machine
which should have lifting power enough
% stay up fully that length Of time. Every
contingency has been considered and provided
or and the result OF this trip cannot fail TO be
If great value and interest not only to the
general public, to the specialists in air naviga-
ion, to the art world through the unique eff
ects Of light and shade which will be pre-
erved by the camera, and to the student Of
neteorology through the data which reliable,
trained observer will give science.
PLANNING THE AIR.sHIP.
Mr.. Moore laid his plans according to the
Instructions of The World to secure the best
!. possible appliance for the work on hand. He
made his estimate In the first place of the
weight TO be lifted, and 1t reached total Of
1000 pounds, or over three tons of dead
weight, TO be sent sky-high and to be kept
there for hours at stretch. There was n
Ear, the home for the time being of the four
iaring travellers. This was calculated to
weigh 500 pounds, Then for the broad
stretch OF gasbag, with its everything net
work of cords and guy ropes and ali the para
phernalia of this part OF the craft weight Of
1900 pounds was carefully cacu lated. Next
there were four men, not members of the Fla
Mems Club by any means, but 1.-THE passen-
gers of brain and muscle. They were put
Town at 600 pounds in the aggregate in the
list Of ayoirdupois 10 be carried Then came
The heap OF ballast Sand in bags, as much
Of IL us could be taken along, for the more
that was started with the batter the chances
IF prolonged trip. Since once in the upper
;ealms, each tendency of the balloon TO sink
iarthwards is met by the dropping OF few
pounds of sand, and the craft shoots sl:yward
igain without delay. This sand then be-
comes, IN paradoxica sort Of way, the fuel
Of the air captain.
The calculation next was u simple one. The
gas TO be used is that from the street mains,
and this, 1t is known, has a buoyant lifting
power Of forty pounds for each thousand
a.
then laid for bag TO hold 10000 cubic feet
Of gas, as this would give power enough and
10 spare in lifting crew aud cargo. The
material TO be used In the con struction of the
immense reservoir Of gas, Mr.. Moore deter
mined, should be muslin, ordinary white cot
ton sheeting to all appearances, yet not that
:. which would be taken from the shelves OF
any dry-goods shop. An order was sent to a
cotton mill, and a mile and quarter strip in
heavy bolts made up especially for The World
balloon. II was woven yard wide, but the
looms were set TO give an extra tight compact
ness TO the finished goods. 1t was weighed
and found to tip the scale at one pound for
each three square yards Of goods The cutting
Of this half ton Of cotton sheeting required ex-
act work, and this Mr.. Moore undertook
personally. A roomy loft was secured and the
long stretches Of unbleached cotton laid
along the floor, and on hands and knees Mr.
Moore went up and down with monster shears,
uutting each gore precisely TO the pattern
which, when put together, would bring out
the perfect pear-shaped form OF the balloon,
when all the strips had been joined. The
sewing was done With the greatest care. 1t
was sewed double aud then each pair OF Jaw
edges were 'felledn down, making double
iointure Of the two parts, than which nothing
4. .t~o,ror In tina art Whfla